A councillor who has got national attention for appearing on TV has clarified his membership of Reform UK in an ongoing clash with the Liberal Democrats.
John Edwards sits as an Independent representative on Sandhurst Town Council in Bracknell Forest.
He recently admitted he was a member of Reform UK when he introduced a motion to permanently fly the flag of the UK at Sandhurst Memorial Park during a council meeting.
The motion was rejected by Sandhurst Town Council’s policy and strategy committee.
While the Bracknell Forest Liberal Democrats have claimed victory, cllr Edwards has argued that his Reform membership has been declared publicly.
A post on the Lib Dem website states: “Councillors Leigh Quigg (College Town) and Mike Forster (Central Sandhurst) unmasked a Reform attempt to weaponise the Union Flag at Sandhurst Town Council.
“Cllr Edwards, who had previously insisted he is an Independent cllr was forced to admit that he is Reform’s Bracknell Forest campaign manager and a fully paid-up member of the party.
“Politicising our Union flag is a new low for Reform, and Liberal Democrats have called them out for trying to create division in our community.
“We will continue to defend our community from the divisive and hostile brand of politics that Reform brings.”
However, cllr Edwards has pointed out that he supports Reform UK both on Facebook and on national TV.
A post by him from June 22 states that he supports Reform UK, and he also announced his support for the party during a Talk TV broadcast.
Cllr Edwards has also featured on GB News, which has covered his scrutiny of the resettlement of families from Afghanistan at the Grange Hotel in Bracknell.
He was subsequently put under investigation by Bracknell Forest Council over an allegation that he was stirring up racial hatred.
Cllr Edwards maintains that he is sitting as an Independent on Sandhurst Town Council, which means that he does not receive directives from Reform UK on motion initiatives and directives on how to vote.
Replying to the Lib Dem post, he said: “How have you ‘unmasked’ this when I’ve already publicly said twice that I’m a Reform member and supporting them in elections — once on national TV?
“It’s also telling that you left out why I proposed having an official flag: so the lamppost flags could be removed and replaced with one official flag without upsetting anyone.
“Your omission of these key facts is clearly designed to misrepresent me and mislead residents.
“Very disappointing from a party that claims to stand for transparency.”
